Reader challenges Joint Legislative Committee

Dear Editor,

As a staunch advocate for transparency and fiscal accountability, I oppose the sale of the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) for both of these reasons.

The lack of transparency in the development of the sale of the Office of Group Benefits has been appalling. How are Louisiana elected officials ever going to gain the public’s trust under these circumstances and/or can we ever lift Louisiana up as a good place to do business as long as business is still conducted behind closed doors and even the Legislative Chair and his Committee are unable to get the facts about the proposed sale even with a subpoena?

OGB was formed in 1979 as a self-insured plan to save the State of Louisiana money by eliminating the profit margin required by private enterprise.

According to the information that I have received from a variety of sources, the sale of this agency would be counterproductive to the State of Louisiana (taxpayers/voters) and to the public employees/voters the agency services. The agency operates on an administrative cost level at which no private corporation can operate, much less offer a lower cost level with the same competitive professional services and the claims turn around time, which OGB currently delivers for a fair price.

Government employees, retirees, and their families, who are also voters, depend on a stable dependable source for health care services. The Office of Group Benefits is doing an excellent job of delivering that product.

The Executive and Legislative branches should be encouraging government agencies to operate effectively rather than seeking to spin them off to the private sector. Besides may I remind you that those jobs are needed by those employees/voters. Do you have approximately 300 new jobs of equal value to outplace these dedicated employees and their families/voters or do those voters also join the unemployment lines, their families suffer, and possibly even lose their homes, too in the name of privatization?

As a voter, who is insured by OGB and a taxpayer of this state, I urge you to stop the sale of the Office of Group Benefits, until it can be objectively proven to be a fiscally sound and beneficial decision not just for the short gain, but for the long term for both the taxpayers/voters and the employees/voters of this state. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget has the power. … Please use it to stop this sale!

Thank you for the work that you do for the people of Louisiana.

Jean Armstrong,

Baton Rouge, La.